Negri Sembilan is back in the fight for a quarter-final berth in the Malaysia Cup from Group A after hammering PKNS FC 3-1 at the Shah Stadium on a night Kedah snatched a 3-2 win over Terengganu in Kuala Terengganu to confirm their place in the knockout stage.
For Kedah, it was sweet revenge for the 2-0 defeat to 10-man Terengganu at home in the first round and the Turtles will now have to beat Negri Sembilan in their final group match next week.
Kedah confirmed the last eight berth with 10 points while the Turtles have nine points followed by Negri on six. PKNS is at the bottom with only four points after five matches.
Terengganu also saw red in their defeat at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium when Hafizal Mohamad was given the sack in injury time for a second bookable offense.
Argentine import Jonatan Bauman gave the Red Eagles a fourth-minute lead before Terengganu skipper Lee Tuck made it all square from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute after he was felled by Renan Alves inside the box.
Kedah was back in front on 37 minutes through Kyrgyzstan midfielder Edgar Bernhardt when picked up assist by Farhan Roslan only for Terengganu to score again – this time through Abdul Malik Ariff on the hour mark.
Veteran Baddrol Bakhtiar destroyed Terengganu with Kedah’s third goal on 87th minute and a place in the Malaysia Cup knockout stage before Hafizal was red-carded.
Two goals by Ferris Danial in the 42nd and 56th minutes and one by Brazilian striker Igor Luiz gave Negri an emphatic win over PKNS to keep their Malaysia Cup hopes alive. Liberian
Kpah Sherman’s equalizer in the first half of injury time failed to inspire PKNS.
PKNS also saw red in the defeat at Shah Alam when Tommy Mawat was given a direct red card for a blatant foul on Jose Almir Barros in the 89th minute.
In a Group B match at the Petaling Jaya Stadium in Kelana Jaya, favorites Johor Darul Takzim edged Petaling Jaya City FC 3-2 for a runaway lead in the group with 13 points after five matches. PJ City will now have to battle PKNP (Perak SEDC) in their final match.
PJ City has nine points while PKNP threw themselves a lifeline for a top-two finish in the group after a 4-0 whitewash of winless UiTM FC at the Manjung Municipality Stadium for seven points and third place in the group.
National striker Syafiq Ahmad scored a brace for JDT with strikes in the 36th and 60th minutes after another international Safawi Rasid opened scoring for the Southern Tigers in the 24th minute.
PJ City scored through Bae Geom-geun and Brandao Washington in the 10th and 58th minutes respectively. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
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